- Chris Torres, the creator of Nyan Cat, has received nearly $706,000 in royalties from meme coin activity.
- These royalties were generated through the Bags platform, which facilitates user-created token launches with assigned royalties.
- A Nyan Cat meme token reached a $12 million market cap, but Torres does not endorse the coin or platform.
- Torres prefers to focus on his art career and views the meme coin space as unpredictable and risky.
- Despite recent crypto trends, Torres believes NFTs remain a better fit for digital artists than meme coins.
Chris Torres, the artist behind the popular Nyan Cat meme, has claimed almost $706,000 in royalties from tokens related to his work. These earnings come from the Bags platform, which allows users to launch digital tokens and automatically route royalties to creators.
Torres, who was born in Puerto Rico, told Decrypt that he has redeemed about 4,000 SOL (the cryptocurrency of the Solana Blockchain), valued at over $700,000 according to CoinGecko. One Nyan Cat meme token on Bags briefly achieved a market cap of $12 million.
Despite the financial benefits, Torres made it clear that receiving royalties does not mean he supports any specific coin or project based on his work. “I’m still respectfully cautious about things though, ultimately I don’t know who launched what, who sniped supply, or who to trust. It’s definitely still the wild west out here,” he told Decrypt. Torres added, “Right now, I’m focused on the art I’ve been making for over 15 years… I’m not totally opposed to the idea, but I have been getting more fulfillment from the art side of things.”
Nyan Cat, an 8-bit animation depicting a cat with a Pop-Tart body flying through space, became a viral sensation after it was posted online in 2011. In 2021, Torres sold a one-of-one NFT of the GIF for 300 ETH, worth $690,000 at the time. He has since assisted other meme creators—like those behind Keyboard Cat and Trollface—to sell NFTs, some for five-figure sums. The creator of Trollface, Carlos Ramirez, also saw a Troll meme token reach a $200 million market cap but refused to endorse it, arguing crypto trading could “diminish” the value of art.
Both Torres and Ramirez say they usually avoid legal action against meme coins unless there is a severe case, as pursuing such claims is time-consuming and stressful. “As an artist, it’s important to find a balance between protecting your IP and letting something exist as a meme,” Torres said.
Torres has created collections with platforms like Reddit, which once experienced downtime due to demand from his NFT sale. Although many believe he is not involved in crypto, Torres said he has worked in the space for nearly five years and has found it personally rewarding. He maintains that NFTs are a more natural art medium compared to meme coins, noting that meme coins are volatile and often require ongoing involvement to sustain value. For Torres, NFTs provide a more stable gallery for creators, but he acknowledges, “[Meme] coins can be art… It’s all about the execution.”
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